Insurance co's want to make a mastectomy outpatuent!!! PETITION

[napi21]

Please take 2 minutes and read this and pass it on. We can't let mastectomy surgery become an outpatient procedure!

From a nurse:

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the Doctors to keep these women in The hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patients, giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank You they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to
remove cancerous breast cells/tissue.
If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards.

Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an
outpatient procedure.
Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important .. Please take the time and do it really quick!
Please send this to everyone in your address book.
If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times.
If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others.
You know who will do the same.

There's a bill called the < B>Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require Insurance Companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a
few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the Web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php


This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS.

What in the world is wrong with these people???? I signed the petition, and in the comments part I told them this sounds like the TV AD where the Dr. is on the phone telling his patient how to do his own surgery!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. This already happened to a friend of mine years ago

They wanted to send her home right after her mastectomy, despite the fact that she lived alone. Fortunately, she's a very kick-ass person and convinced her doctor that she needed at least another day.

[seemunkee]

2. That petition is a year old

While its true the bill referred to is from the last congress. Not sure if there is one for this year.

[Alameda]

3. I signed

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Didn't they try to do this with child birth?

Cut the time back from 5 days to two days in the hospital?

[mopinko]

7. 5 days? they haven't done 5 days in years.

but what do i know. i had mine at home.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Yep, at least twenty years ago.

It took me that long to recover, too. Twenty years.

[SoCalDem]

10. Hah!..I was in for ELEVEN days..

but then I almost died twice during the ordeal ..I guess they didn't dare letting me out early..

I was in for 6 days with my second..

and 7 with the 3rd..

I was a "high-risk" patient...lucky me :(

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Sorry for your experience.

I thought I had it bad because the maternity ward almost cheated us out of the lobster and steak dinner that they promoted in their t.v. commercials.

[AwakeAtLast]

11. Standard time is 2 days NOW - they wanted to make it 24 HRS. or less!

Newborns started dying because they were not in the hospital when some of the life threatening symptoms pop up. Mothers started to have many complications. When will they get the idea that sometimes, staying just a little longer is worth it?

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. I needed more time with my first.

I completely lost my pelvic floor and couldn't walk.

I know I'll come up with a punchline someday over that experience, I just haven't had time to think about it.

[AwakeAtLast]

17. Yup, it is sad when politicians and bean counters decide what is best

for our bodies. :(

[LeftyMom]

20. 5 days? In CA they send you home after 24 hours for a vaginal delivery.

Honestly, I felt fine before that, was up cleaning my room, etc. But other women or babies might need longer. There should be more leeway for the patient and the doctor or midwife to decide.

edit: Come to think of it, my son was born at five on thursday and they signed me out at 1 pm friday (it was supposed to be noon but the doctor was running late.) I think I signed something saying I consented to going home early, which was fine in my case, because if I stayed any longer I would have killed the patient in the other recovery bed.

[lonestarnot]

5. Insurance is a fucking scam!

[whistler162]

24. No actually it is a tool...

often misused but still a valuable tool.

[cushla_machree]

6. Let them do it

Maybe then people will be angry enough to realize that insurance is the worst thing ever. Right now there are too many people who think 'my insurance is great' and basically 'who cares about everyone else"

[Contrary1]

8. I got to stay a whole 25 hours after my mastectomy/reconstruction...

In other countries, women stay 2 to 5 days.

Here's more recent info I found:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

DeLauro’s Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

Focus of Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Hearing


"Washington , D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro’s (CT-3) applauded the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for holding the first ever hearing on her bipartisan legislation, the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act (H.R. 758). DeLauro, who first introduced the bill in 1996, submitted written testimony in support of the legislation that would allow a woman and her doctor to decide whether she should recuperate from a mastectomy or lumpectomy for at least 48 hours in the hospital or whether she has enough support to get quality care at home.

The legislation has 219 cosponsors in the House and Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have introduced companion legislation, which has 19 cosponsors. Additionally, a petition at myLifetime.com calling for passage of the bill has been signed nearly 22 million times. It is also supported by a number of high profile organizations, including BreastCancer.org, Susan G. Komen, CT Breast Cancer Coalition Foundation, American Cancer Society, Families USA, The Oncology Nursing Society, and the Breast Cancer Network of Strength (to view the letters of support please visit www.house.gov/delauro).

Below is the text of DeLauro’s testimony.

“Thank you, Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Deal for convening this hearing today on a critical piece of legislation. I would also like to thank Dr. Kristen Zarfos of Connecticut for her testimony today as well as Alva Williams from North Carolina for sharing her story. Thank you to Lifetime Television for your partnership over the past 12 years on this bill, as well as to the young women from Georgetown Visitation of the Think Pink organization. The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act will ensure that the decision of when to send a patient home after having a mastectomy will be made by the patient and her doctor, and not her insurance company.

“More than 12 years ago, I first met Dr. Zarfos. She walked into my office in Connecticut and told me that HMOs were forcing her to discharge her patients before they were ready – sometimes just hours after mastectomy surgery. Her experiences inspired me to get involved. With her tireless work on behalf of patients in my home state of Connecticut , the help of Lifetime Television, and overwhelming support for this bill at the grassroots level, I am inspired to maintain the pressure and the focus to enact this legislation.

“Today, a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime is one in eight - almost everyone knows someone who has suffered from this disease. If you have watched a loved one fighting for her life, you understand how important it is to have not only the loving support of family as I did during my fight against ovarian cancer, but also adequate recovery time in the hospital after surgery – so you have the professional care to begin healing and avoid infection. A mastectomy is not an easy surgery – it is physically and emotionally traumatic.

“That is what the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act is all about. It says that when it comes to mastectomies and lumpectomies, adequate recovery time in the hospital should not be negotiable. The last thing any woman should be doing at that time is fighting with her insurance company. This bill does not mandate a 48 hour hospital stay if a patient chooses to go home sooner, nor does it set 48 hours as a maximum amount of time a woman can stay in the hospital. It simply ensures that any decision in favor of a shorter or longer hospital stay will be made by the patient and her doctor, and not an insurance company. It would also ensure women have access to second opinions and adequate hospital stays after having a lumpectomy.

“H.R. 758 is supported by a number of well-respected organizations including the Breast Cancer Network of Strength (formerly the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization), Families USA, American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance, Connecticut Breast Cancer Coalition, Oncology Nursing Society, and Breastcancer.org. The bill also enjoys broad bipartisan support in Congress - 219 cosponsors in the House and 19 cosponsors in the Senate. Celebrities including Marcia Cross and Jewel have worked in support of this bill, and nearly 22 million people have gone to Lifetime Television to sign its online petition in support of the legislation. The time has come to sign this legislation into law, to restore patient and consumer rights to breast cancer patients and their families.

“I have worked on the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act for an entire decade in this Congress, without a vote or hearing ever having been called and I want to applaud Chairman Pallone for convening this hearing today. We are at a turning point in our battle to pass this common-sense legislation. This is our opportunity to meet our obligations as a nation and to make clear: we value women’s health. Thank you for your attention to this vital issue.”

http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2008/May/Breast_Cancer_Hearing_5_21_08.html

[Triana]

15. My brother JUST had surgery and....

...he had a hernia repaired. They sent him HOME THE SAME DAY because even though he SHOULD HAVE HAD 1-3 days as an inpatient to recover, THE INSURANCE COMPANY WON'T COVER THAT. He was told he could stay but would have to pay the additional cost himself.

He lives ALONE and is RIGHT NOW home in INCREDIBLE PAIN. (got his boss to give him a ride home and pick up his pain meds). He lives out of state, it cost $$$$ to fly and there's nothing anyone in our family can do.


BASTARDS!

:mad:
:mad:
:mad:

[AwakeAtLast]

31. I had my gall bladder removed at 8 am - I was home before 3 pm!

And they were rushing me to be out at 1:00! The reason I got to stay an 'extra' hour (bless their hearts x( ) was because I was not responding to the pain meds, my lips turned blue and I almost passed out. I got a whole extra hour for that! :banghead:

Same-day surgery needs to be overhauled big time.

Next thing you know, heart bypass will be same-day. :eyes:

[noonwitch]

33. I had it done in 92, and stayed one night in the hospital

I had complications that would have kept me in one night, anyways. I was under for longer than usual, because the surgeon had trouble getting the stone out. Plus, I had a bad reaction to the anesthesia.

I did feel good the next day, better than I had in years. I was ready to go hours before they actually signed me out.

With mastectomies, shouldn't it be up to the doctor, not the insurance company? I'm sure that some women are ready to go home that day, and, in fact, heal better at home than in the hospital. But that's not going to be the case for every woman. Let the doctors decide.

[napi21]

18. Thanks for the update. I must say this is the FIRST TIME I've seen Deal's

name associated with anything...let alone anything good! He's my Rep. and although he always answers my emails, he NEVER commits to ANYTHING! The best I ever got was "I'll keep your comments in mind".

[Contrary1]

25. Not Deal...DeLauro

Chances are Deal is still an ass.

[napi21]

27. When our Dem group leader said Deal's pop rating was very high,

I told her that was because he doesn't DO anything! You can never be wrong or get in trouble with the voters is you stay hidden somewhere!

[mcctatas]

13. Insurance companies hate women...

I am now convinced, my husband had a shoulder repaired and got to stay inpatient for 2 days, after my c-section, I got 48 hours from the time of delivery, after my hysterectomy, I got 24 hours from the time of check in! Evil, evil, evil!!!

[Triana]

16. See #15 - they hate HUMANS and don't want to give back a dime of that precious $$$ ...

of ours - that we PAY year after year into their coffers - when we really NEED it. Even though that's what they're supposed to be THERE for.

WE can DROP DEAD for all they care. But they're KEEPING our money and shortsheeting us ALL on care.

ROBBER BARONS!

[pacalo]

19. Thanks.

There's no way my mother, who was 70 when she had a mastectomy, could have left the hospital on the same day as her surgery. If the insurance companies are looking to cut costs, they should turn their attention to the medical industry who sets the prices.

[orleans]

21. let's see...maybe we can cut off some of these motherfucking c.e.o's body parts

and tell them to get the fuck home right away.

may it come back to them a thousand fold. fuckers.

[kskiska]

22. Why are hospitals getting bigger and bigger

when it seems very few patients are allowed to stay overnight? Back in the early 60s when I had my kids the stay was typically 5-7 days.

[napi21]

29. Hmmm...maybe it depended on where you lived. My boys were

born in 1965 & 1968 and my stay was 2 days. I didn't have any complications and I was GLAD to go home!

[whistler162]

23. Signed....

there is no way my mom could have come home that quickly after her surgery.

[undergroundpanther]

26. I had a double mastectomy

outpatient. It was not so bad. I didn't need any painkillers,because it just wasn't all that bad.The drains didn't hurt either.They were inconvenient.I made two little pockets I could pin inside my shirt,to hold the drains made it a snap to tend to them and keep them out of the way.. I could call my doc anytime. I had one incident,I caught my moms cold a week after surgery,I was ok until the second night of the cold,I woke up coughing hard at 3 am,So I held a pillow to my chest sat up and coughed.. and suddenly I felt blood flowing. I had coughed and dislodged a blood clot, it looked scary,I called my doc right away,she asked me questions and by my answers she knew it was a clot,and that being dislodged was actually a good thing.Soon the bleeding slowed and stopped and it went back to the usual yellowish fluids.It was a pain in the ass to get the clot out of the drain bulb my sink looked like part of a murder scene set from CSI.. a day later the drain just fell out,this happened the day before I was to get them out. I called my doc, she said don't worry about it ,It did not hurt,felt gross but no pain.

I think if there are alot of complications,cancer pain etc. Yeah impatient is a good idea. But for me inpatient would have been overkill,because I could handle the drains and such.
I don't think ALL mastectomies should be done outpatient, but some I think could be done that way and still be safe. I think it should be a case by case basis.But yeah the insurance pigs are not about case by case concerns they are about profit and profit is no way to judge what kind of treatment someone needs..or does not need.
I wish there were no insurance companies profiting off sickness or healthcare.I hate the fucking profit Pigs.

[napi21]

28. You're a very brave woman, but just the things you mentioned and

believe were insignificant COULD have been very serious problems, and shouldn't or couldn't have been dealt with outside of onsite medical care. I applaud you for dealing with your circumstances very well, but you would have been much safer in the hospital for a few days with trained care.

I've had some things taken care of as an outpatient, like the removal of a rod from my broken ankle that was trying to work it's way out, and I had NO problems at all! The incision was so small I couldn't even find it without the bandaid on it, so something like that is fine as out patient surgery, but when you get into drains, and blood clots, it's simply wrong!

[Contrary1]

30. My reconstruction, mentioned in post #8, went south three weeks later...

The plastic surgeon tried for several days to save it, but eventually the implant became exposed. He scheduled outpatient surgery to remove it.

Around 9:00 pm the night before that surgery, my insurance company called to tell me they were not going to pay for it because, first; it was elective surgery, and secondly; because the outpatient surgical center was not in the network. Normally, they paid 70% to an out of network facility, so I have no idea where they pulled that one out of. Also, they would never again pay for reconstructive surgery should I "change my mind" again.

I told them that I didn't care...I was feeling sicker by the minute. I also told them I would take a color pic of the very exposed implant for their viewing pleasure.

I had the surgery. The doctor said it was the worst failed reconstruction he had ever seen. What was suppose to take 45 minutes, took almost two hours. He apologized that he did not do the surgery as an inpatient. Pathology reports showed that I had three separate infections going on.

That night I spiked a fever of 106. My husband called the surgeon at 3:00am. We were able to get the fever down with a mega dose of ibuprofen. But, if it had not come down, I would have ended up back in the hospital.

The insurance company called again a few days later to say that they had "reconsidered" my case, and would pay for it after all. :eyes:

[AwakeAtLast]

32. I think it depends on how good your doctors are

If you have great doctors who send you home in good shape, you should be able to handle it. Unfortunately not all doctors are the same, but I'm sure insurance companies wish they were!